In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings. In the drippings, saute onion until tender. Add the potato, carrot, water and bouillon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are almost tender.

Stir in the milk, corn and pepper. Cook 5 minutes longer. Combine the flour and cold water until smooth; gradually whisk into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle with bacon. Yield: 2 servings.

Combine the base items with the chili and select toppings and you have a great meal. I suggest small servings so you can have more than one combo – you may even want to cut the hot dogs in half. One of my personal favorites is the Fritos bags that you can just grab and go. You fill the bag with the chili and toppings and eat right out of the bag!

To hide the not-so-attractive crock pot, I wrapped it with burlap. I served root beer from a large urn, which you could also fill with beer of course.

This chili bar was a huge hit with the family. The husband loved it, the kids loved it, and it could even be used for a tween or teen birthday buffet.

By http://celebrationsathomeblog.com

Holiday Cottage http://www.holidaycottagepage.com/

Vegetarian Posole Stew

2013-09-12 10:57:09

Posole is a simple rustic stew commonly eaten year-round in the pueblos of New Mexico—and it is especially welcome in wintertime. Made from dried hominy corn, vegetables, spices and dried red chiles, the stew is usually cooked in large quantities. It is traditionally served with a variety of condiments—especially red chile sauce, freshly roasted diced green chiles, chile pequín and Indian breads, particularly blue corncob breadsticks. The ingredient known as posole—Mexican-style hominy—is found in three colors of corn: white, blue and red, with white being the most common. It is sold dried in the Mexican food section of well-stocked markets or in Latino groceries. Azafrán is Native American saffron, which is sold in Latino groceries. If available, substitute dried Mexican oregano for the fresh oregano.

2. Place posole in large pot of water to cover by 3 inches. Bring posole to a boil over high heat, and reduce heat to low, cooking, uncovered, about 11/2 hours, or until kernels burst and are puffy and tender. Add water during cooking, if needed. Drain posole, and set aside.